The 2014 NHL Draft could be filled with surprises and intrigue, but it could also be filled with coincidences that make history seem funny.

One such possibility could revolve around Barrie Colts forward Brendan Lemieux. Brendan is the son of former Colorado Avalanche forward Claude Lemieux. We’ve talked about him here before.

During the NHL Scouting Combine, Lemieux interviewed with 28 out of 30 NHL teams and one of those was the Detroit Red Wings. The guy doing the talking for Detroit was none other than Kris Draper, now a special assistant to GM Ken Holland. Draper and Claude Lemieux have a notorious history dating back to 1996.

“We had a great conversation,” Brendan said. “He’s a really nice guy. I did not think I was going to get interviewed by them, let alone have it be serious. I thought they were going to walk in, make a few jokes and I was going to leave, but I have nothing but good things to say about their organization. They were extremely professional and they barely brought it up. I tried to joke about it and they weren’t even budging.

“I have no problem playing in Detroit after that interview, for sure.”

Imagine the reaction of Red Wings fans who still see red when they see video of Brendan’s father Claude hitting Draper from behind during the 1996 Western Conference Final.

Somewhere, Dino Ciccarelli is really getting fired up about the possibility of the Wings taking the son of a franchise villain.

“Whether it’s my dad’s relationship with Patrick or my relationship with Patrick, they’re not going to base their decision around that,” Brendan Lemieux said Tuesday. “It’s bigger business nowadays, and I know they’ll draft the best player available and what they need. I’m looking forward to whichever team picks me, but if I go to Colorado at No. 23, I won’t be disappointed at all. It will be a dream.”

Brendan is the 28th-best North American skater according to NHL Central Scouting. He had 27 goals and 53 points in Barrie this season and was a teammate of potential top pick, defenseman Aaron Ekblad.

The possibilities of seeing Claude’s son land on a team he’s got history with are juicy. Obviously the Avalanche connections are there, but with New Jersey and Montreal picking late in Round 1, seeing him chosen by them makes for a great story as well.

You don’t suppose the Detroit Red Wings might be interested if he slips into the second-round, do you?

PHT’s Morning Skate takes a look around the world of hockey to see what’s happening and what we’ll be talking about around the NHL world and beyond.

See what happens when you lose three in a row? People start to get nervous. Fortunately for the Winnipeg Jets, the Hurricanes and Capitals aren’t doing much to catch them in the Southeast. (Winnipeg Free Press)

Welcome back, Bobby Ryan. He snapped a six-game goalless streak against the Stars last night. (Orange County Register)

Speaking of Dallas, Brenden Morrow wanted to be a Star for life. D’oh… (DMN)

Finally, from the college ranks: The Denver Pioneers fired 19-year head coach George Gwozdecky. He’d only taken the team to 20 wins each of the last 12 years and has led them to two national championships. What a bum, right? Sheesh. (Denver Post)

When Lemieux checked Draper, his face hit the top of the boards in front of the Detroit bench. He suffered a broken jaw, a concussion, damaged teeth, a possible fracture of the orbital bone and cuts that needed 30 stitches to close.

Afterward, Draper looked like the victim of a car accident. Two hours after the incident, blood still flowed from his mouth and nose and parts of his face were swollen. He will have his fractured jaw surgically repaired on Friday.

The following season, Detroit got its revenge on Lemieux.

(Note the cameo from Jim Van Horne’s sweet moustache):

Imagine being at the Joe for this one. A 6-5 game (decided in overtime, no less) with 18 fighting majors and 144 penalty minutes. The Red Wings fired 47 shots on goal — compared to just 19 from the Avalanche — and it’s not like either team dined out on the power play. The Avs went one-for-six, the Wings one-for-seven.

I could think of worse games to be in attendance for.

Finally, it has to be said — one of Lemieux’s most memorable moments wasn’t a hit that he threw, but rather one he received.

It was during Game 5 of the 1996 Western Conference finals — the game before the Draper incident — when Vladimir Konstantinov caught him with one of the nastiest hipchecks ever:

That hit gets lost in the shuffle sometimes, largely because Colorado went on to win the series. But I honestly think it might be the best hipcheck…ever. Seriously.

Considering the stakes, the player it was on, the impact it made on contact and the spectacular landing…if you’ve got another submission, feel free to post it in the comments section.

Canucks fans are excited to have young rookie prospect Cody Hodgson eventually leave his mark on the NHL in the form of being the latest scoring stud in Vancouver. After all, the Canucks have had guys like Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin, and Ryan Kesler emerge under their watch and the one thing a loaded team needs is yet another weapon to throw out on the ice.

Hodgson had his troubles cracking the Canucks lineup last year with the team being as loaded up as they were and with the center position having as much talent as they did, Alain Vigneault opted to not go with Hodgson very often when injuries interrupted the team’s flow. This year, Hodgson is looking to make the Canucks main roster and stay there all year and he’s looking for an edge to do that. Who better to ask for tips than Claude Lemieux, right?

Lemieux is involved with a company called 4Star which works with and represents athletes, and they’ve established a working arrangement with Hodgson’s agent, Ritch Winter’s Sports Corporation, to help their hockey clients. Hodgson is one of the higher-profile players to have this type of help.

“We’ve had a number of discussions with the coaches and management in Vancouver and we expect to talk from time to time,” said Lemieux, who is really looking forward to the new role as a substitute for playing. “Being able to help another player, to me it’s the next best thing to playing yourself and that’s something I can’t do anymore.”

“He’s helped me with quite a few things,” says Hodgson. “We’ve worked on mental preparation, footwork, shooting and places to shoot and different ways of scoring. It’s been really interesting.”

Nothing about infuriating opponents, turtling in a fight, and hitting players questionably? Come on, that’s not full bang for the buck.

Hodgson looking to get a better edge for his game and to improve his play is a great thing for a young player to want to improve on. After all, the Canucks got a great first-hand look at what a young player can do when he adds a bit of nasty to his game when they couldn’t find a way to handle Boston’s Brad Marchand in the Stanley Cup finals. That’s not to say that’s the sort of action Hodgson will add to his game, but it couldn’t hurt either.

For Hodgson, emerging as an offensive threat could help him get an opportunity to get more time on the power play and more minutes than he saw in his time with Vancouver last season. In just eight games with the Canucks last season, Hodgson averaged just 7:45 of ice time and for any player, never mind a guy who’s looking to score points, that’s just not enough time to be productive. Hodgson spent most of last season in the AHL with Manitoba. There he had 17 goals and 13 assists in 52 games. All of those numbers must improve if he’s going to be a future threat in Vancouver. Luckily for both the Canucks and Hodgson, he’s just 21 years-old.

If Hodgson is going to make the Canucks roster, having some of that Lemieux nastiness to his game will help him earn more minutes on the third and fourth lines in Vigneault’s system. If he can learn how to be effective around the net the way Lemieux was, he’ll wind up having a long and successful career. After all, getting tips from a former Conn Smythe Trophy winner isn’t the worst thing in the world.